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Welcome to Your Campus Sensory Room

Workshop Day
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
12 pm – 1:15 pm
Kuykendall 106 Events Room

Sensory rooms are now common in schools, hospitals, and community spaces. These rooms use equipment to create a controlled sensory-focused environment. A sensory room creates a safe space to self regulate and manage over-stimulation and stress and can be beneficial to anyone.

55% of UH Mānoa Peer and Benchmark Schools offer some form of sensory-friendly space on campus. UH Mānoa will now be launching a sensory room that will be located at Kuykendall Hall 106, as part of a partnership with the Center on Disability Studies and their research to support student success through professional development on inclusive practices. This initiative, funded by the UH Foundation and the Oak Foundation, brings a 13 item sensory room to campus along with a free online course—“CAMP+U” for faculty, staff, and administrators focused on disability awareness, Universal Design for Learning, educational technology to support learner agency, strategies to strengthen classroom belonging as well as sensory integration.

This workshop will demonstrate effective use of the sensory equipment and provide faculty with an overview of the benefits of sensory integration as well as to experience the benefits themselves in this hands-on session.

CAMP+U video (Canva.com)

CAMP+U flier (PDF)

Presented by

Manca Sustarsic
Center on Disability Studies

Maria Teresa Houar
Center on Disability Studies

Eun Bin Ladner-Seok
OFDAS Center for Teaching Excellence

This event is sponsored by the OFDAS Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE).

Sensory Room Mondays

Every Monday (excl. select dates*)
January 13 – May 5, 2025
9 am – 4 pm
Kuykendall 106 Events Room

Workshop Day
Tuesday, January 28, 2025
12 pm – 1:15 pm

*Sensory Room Closures:

Martin Luther King Day (1/20)
President’s Day (2/17)
Spring Break (3/17)
April 14 (conference)

Upcoming Events

We strive to host inclusive and accessible presentations. Some events are in person, others online. For online, live captioning will be provided. To request additional accommodations, please email us before the event. Mahalo!

The Center on Disability Studies (CDS) and the OFDAS Center for Teaching Excellence (CTE) collaborated to establish a sensory room at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa (UHM), located in Kuykendall Hall 106. Sensory rooms, increasingly popular in schools, hospitals, and community spaces, provide controlled sensory environments to promote self-regulation and stress management. This initiative positions UH Mānoa with its peer and benchmark institutions, 55% of which offer some form of sensory-friendly spaces.

Funded by the UH Foundation and the Oak Foundation, the project includes a fully equipped 13-item sensory room and the CAMP+U professional development program for UHM faculty, administrators and staff. The free online course focuses on disability awareness, Universal Design for Learning, learner-centered educational technologies, and strategies for fostering classroom belonging and sensory integration.

“It felt calming overall. It was exciting to choose which station to interact with. It was inspiring as a parent and educator.”

FacultyCompany Name

“It was very peaceful and relaxing. I appreciated the low lighting and large space to move around and experience different spaces/items.”

FacultyCompany Name

“Unique experience. I’m wondering if my students will stop by on occasion if they need it… If this helps others, I’m glad it’s a resource available for them right here on campus.”

FacultyCompany Name

“The room was welcoming and relaxing. Each section provided a unique and different experience, and I enjoyed how they work on each sense.”

StudentCompany Name

“I feel as if I’m able to pause time and allow myself the ability to process the thousands of thoughts and voices in my normally chaotic mind, quieting it in the process. It’s such a relief.”

StudentCompany Name

“It was a really great place to turn off everything (mentally and physically) and just engage with the items provided.”

Student

“I sat down in the corner with the stars and auroras and became unable to leave that spot until the room closed. For those 30 minutes, I felt a calm I rarely experience.”

Student